She Cried
by Zim's-Best-Friend
Summary: The sight of tears makes Zim's skin crawl...One-shot/No romance.


Writer's block issues, again. Plus the dreaded school and the cruel Senior Project that looms over my head…So, this might be it for a while.

This is something I've had in my mind for a while…Figured I'd write it to help with my writer's block. It might be a complete fail, or it might be a complete win…It can go either way, I guess.

Takes place right after Walk of Doom. Not a romance one-shot! Sorry if something like this has already been done. I didn't see anything that was related to this idea...

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Invader Zim, or any of its characters, which belong to Nickelodeon and Viacom. I am not claiming that I do. The only character I own is Grace.

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_She Cried_

Out of that strange part of town and away from the chilling wind that picked up outside, Zim and Gir stood in the living room. The door closed, slamming against the frame from a strong gust of wind. The scent of rain lingered in the still air, standing out among the heavy cleaning-chemical smell.

Gir skipped to the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV. His eyes glazed over as several commercials flipped by, some rather disturbing. He leaned back, not noticing Zim as he passed by, tearing off his disguise.

Hanging back in the doorway, throwing a contact to the floor before stepping into the kitchen, Zim looked back at Gir. His face held no emotion, and his right hand clawed at the wall. He went ignored, cast aside for the Scary Monkey Show. He glanced to the TV, his antennae twitching a bit as Gir screeched with laughter. No sound came from the television other than deep breathing.

Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but Zim could still see a small amount of evidence from when Gir had began to cry. The fabric beneath his large eyes still looked a bit stained, though not as easy to spot as the chocolate and tuna stains around his mouth, among other unknown spots…When was the last time Gir even washed that thing? Probably never.

Zim mentally gagged at that thought.

Glancing to the tiled floor, the thought of seeing Gir cry flashed in Zim's mind. There weren't a lot of things that bothered him…Barely any for that matter. Invaders weren't supposed to be bothered by anything…

However, the sight of tears made his skin crawl.

Unwelcome and slightly forgotten memories began to come, most blurry and from when he was very young. Others from Invader training. Not many stood out, just normal moments, some actually nice to remember. Except one.

_It was at the beginning of Invader training…Barely a week into it…_

_Zim walked swiftly down the hall, silently struggling with his uniform. The large cuffs on his ankles and wrists were too tight, and they slowed him down, but he wasn't about to complain. No, he was too proud for that, even at this age._

_Others passed, groaning from the slight pain, with sweat dripping from their faces from all the running, some gasped and gagged for breath, not caring who heard them at the moment. Of course, that was only because the instructors weren't around. When they were, not a sound was to be made. Weakness could never be shown._

_The sounds of pain vanished as the group ahead of him turned into the large training room, where the obstacle course was set up. Non-fatal laser guns lay ready for use in the corner, obviously old and worn by the faded color. _

_Zim smirked as he glanced into the room. His regular teammates seemed tired and ready to pass out, though he was still full of energy. The other two teams were equally tired; a few lying on the ground, hoping the instructors wouldn't show up for another few minutes._

_Movement to his left caught Zim's eye, and he looked to see a young female lingering in the shadows, just barely out of sight and out of the training room. Her breathing was labored; her hand was to her chest as she tried to catch her breath, seeming to be having a much harder time than the others. She didn't notice him with her eyes tightly closed._

_Zim watched her, curious as to see who she was. With the shadows covering most of her, and her eyes closed, it was hard to tell. He jumped when her eyes snapped open, still trying to catch her breath, but startled by the sight of Zim. They stared at each other, studying each other._

_She seemed nervous…Frail. Her pink eyes, the lightest Zim had yet to see on another female, stayed locked on him. She shivered, bringing her thin arms up in a weak hug. Stepping out a bit from her cover, Zim noticed the things that seemed off about her._

_Her skin was pale. One of her antennae, while in the normal curled fashion, was bent. Not much, just enough to seem noticeable. The cuffs around her ankles and wrists seemed tighter and larger than normal on her tiny frame. What was to be for monitoring speed and strength was now a painful trap…Not like the others, where they were merely tight and an annoyance before one got used to them._

_What was her name, again?_

"_Grace?"_

_Her eyes widened. "Please don't tell…" Her voice was low, barely above a whisper. It was now that the tears became obvious. They spilled from her eyes, dripping to the ground. She seemed scared, her eyes darting around._

_Zim stayed silent, watching as she wiped away some of the tears. Grace wasn't very strong…She was thought to be premature, a mistake that slipped through the cracks since premature smeets were never allowed to survive. A not-so-common defect. She was clumsy and often messed things up, especially in the obstacle course. That's why no one ever wanted her on their team._

_Most of the time, no one paid any attention to her. She just seemed to melt into the shadows, always quiet. No one cared when she tripped on the track, or jammed a laser gun and caused it to spark and shock her hand, which was quite painful._

_Zim never thought much of her. "I won't," he said, tilting his head to the side. _

"_Thank you," Grace said with a small sniffle. "They'll…take me away if they find out I really can't keep up."_

_He looked at her; her gaze never met his, but instead went to the floor. _

"_I want to be an Invader, you know?" She looked up, locking eyes with him. She smiled, her light pink eyes sparking to life for a few seconds. _

"_Who doesn't?" Zim scoffed, crossing his arms. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her. "And, I'm going to be Tallest one day," he added, pointing to himself with his usual confidence. A cocky smirk on his face. _

_Grace laughed, wiping the last few tears from her eyes. _

"_You don't believe me?" Zim glared at her. _

"_I do. Just…remember that goal." Grace smiled at him again. She looked to the ground, hearing the others in the training room scramble to their formation lines. Loud shouts came from the instructors, yelling the rest of the day's activities and some cruel taunts. The spark in her eyes vanished and her bent antennae twitched._

_Grace wiped at the few tears that fell, taking a few steps into the room. Zim watched her go, never looking back as she disappeared into the group of young Irkens, impossible to see from the moving crowd as they tried to get into formation. He paused, trying to find her in the crowd but failed to do so. He shrugged and rushed inside to take his own place._

_The day's lessons and activities ended without much excitement. At the sound of their dismissal, the young Irkens rushed to their living quarters for some much needed rest._

_The next day, as time reset itself and the artificial lights came on, lighting the underground paths to the training area, Zim ran down the hall. _

_Late, yet again. Hopefully, the instructors were in a good mood, or at least willing of giving leniency. However, that didn't seem likely. _

_Skidding around corners, trying not to trip in the halls, his destination was finally in sight. With a final stride, he crashed through the doors, severely out of breath, but still willing to smile victoriously and march to his spot. Others whispered around him, rolling their eyes._

_Straightening his shirt, ignoring the casual, usual whispers around him, Zim looked around. He scanned the lines of Irkens, seeing the normal faces. With a scoff, he looked forward._

_Grace was nowhere to be seen. _

"_Hey…you! Fat one!"_

_The male standing in front of him turned around. After a short pause, he sighed, slouching a bit. _

"_Zim, you know what my name is," Skoodge said._

_Zim stared at him with a blank face. "Eh, I don't think so." _

"_We've known each other since we were a year old! Don't you remember getting me blasted and in trouble when you decided to escape to the surface?" Skoodge was turned all the way around, trying to keep his voice down, yet obviously annoyed._

"_Umm…Right, okay." Zim glanced to the floor, feeling quite awkward. After a pause, he looked back up and said, "Anyway! Have you seen that one female? Grace I think it was."_

_Skoodge's eyes widened for a moment, then he just shook his head, looking to the floor. "You don't know?" He sounded confused, moment of sympathy clearly over. _

"_What is that supposed to mean?" Zim's voice was loud, though thankfully not loud enough to not attract much attention, besides Red and Purple, who stood behind him. _

"_What are you yelling about now?" Red said, crossing his arms. _

"_He's wondering where Grace went." Skoodge looked at Red, then back to Zim. _

"_Well?" Zim crossed his arms, his antennae flattened against his head in annoyance as he glared at him._

"_They…took her away, Zim."_

_Zim didn't say anything. He didn't even look down; his eyes stayed firmly locked with Skoodge's._

"_Good riddance, too," Red said with a laugh. "The girl just slowed everyone down, anyway. Who needs someone like that as an Invader?" He finished with a snicker, looking to Purple._

"_Yeah!" Purple added, laughing with Red._

_Skoodge didn't say anything, he just turned back around. The whispers were slowly starting to stop; the day's training was about to begin. Red and Purple stopped laughing, though giggling every now and then. Zim…just stood there._

"_Zim…" _

_He looked to Skoodge, who was half-turned around to face him._

"_She cried when they took her." Sympathy flashed in his eyes as he looked away, slowly turning back around. Letting his whispered sentence linger in the air._

_Zim didn't say anything. He didn't hear anything until Red's whispered voice hit him, snapping him back to reality._

"_Who needs another useless defect?"_

His words echoed in Zim's mind. Even today, where the early days of Invader training were but a distant memory. Another life, where the young were thrust into an unforgiving, violent world. No one knew that better than Zim.

With a sigh, Zim looked around the base. Seeing and noticing nothing in particular.

"Master?"

He looked to Gir, staring at him, out of his dog disguise. The TV was silent, turned off a while ago when the Scary Monkey Show had ended.

"It's nothing, Gir," Zim said, looking to Gir. And it was. Just another memory, one that should have been useless just as every memory was to him.

Rain pelted the window, slipping down the glass and forming a small puddle on the outside windowsill. The light had dimmed, almost ready to vanish as the Sun was setting. None of this mattered, but it did add a bit of a distraction before Zim was ready to enter his labs.

Sliding his hand off the wall, and marching into the kitchen, Zim's voice was just barely able to be heard:

"Just don't cry, anymore."

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Well, that was a fail. It could've been a lot better, especially the message of the story…But I've been working on this for quite a while, and I need to finish it or I will explode. No flames, please.

I've just always thought it was weird how Zim decided not to yell at Gir when he saw he was crying...It's cute, and it's what made me fall in love with him, but it's weird.

Oh well…Maybe I'll revise it when I get the chance.

Zim was OOC. I tried to keep him in character, but it didn't work out very well…Sorry.


End file.
